Is England's Inexperienced Bowling Attack A Worrying Sign For Ben Stokes?

England'd weak bowling attack [Source: AP Photo]

359/3 is what India posted on Day 1 of the Headingley Test match against a toothless England attack. A young Indian batting unit dismantled the home side as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill notched up their respective centuries and it was followed by a swashbuckling fifty-run knock from Rishabh Pant.

Surprisingly, the Headingley surface favoured the batters as the pitch had nothing for the bowlers and the English attack made life easier for Gill and his men. It won't be an understatement to say that the current attack is England's weakest bowling lineup in a long time and here's why they struggled.

Why is England's pace trio, a worrying sign for Stokes

Before the likes of Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue, England had the likes of Stuart Broad and James Anderson, leading the lines for England. Apart from them, the side had the experienced Mark Wood as the third seamer. However, things have changed in recent times. Carse and Tongue have combined played 8 Test matches.

This is Carse's first Test match at home, having played all of his matches away from home. Tongue is a talented pacer but he has been injury-prone in recent times and same has been the case with Chris Woakes, England's most experienced Test bowler. However, even he played his last red-ball cricket for England in December 2024 and has been in and out of the team.

England's best bowler at the moment, Gus Atkinson is injured with calf issues, Mark Wood won't be available for the first 4 Tests and there is no sign of Jofra Archer. Hence, Stokes has no choice but to trust Woakes, Carse and Tongue for at-least the next 3 Test matches.

Just 29% deliveries on good length by England bowlers

In England, good length deliveries or slightly fuller than a good length is the ideal bowling map for a fast bowler. However, on Day 1 of the Headingley Test, the England trio of Carse, Tongue and Woakes were a bit too full and it allowed the Indian batters to get underneath the ball and play their strokes. As per Cricviz, just 29% of their bowling was on good length - only once in the last 10 years have they recorded a lower figure at the start of a home Test

(England bowlers lengths)

Fuller length meant that the ball wasn't swinging much and it played to India's strengths. The only bowler who caused a bit of trouble was skipper Ben Stokes. He was constantly trying different things and it worked as he dismissed both Sai Sudharsan and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

How India took advantage of it?

Right from the onset, the Indian batters were positive as they played with an aggressive mindset and never allowed the English bowlers to settle in. This rattled the England bowlers as they looked clueless against the likes of Pant and Shubman Gill.

The team had a run-rate of more than 4.5 in the second and third session on Day 1 and it set the foundation for a big India win. Had the batters been a bit too defensive, it would have been easier for England bowlers but India never gave them the slightest of chances for comeback.

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